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Penguins hold off Hershey

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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Not even 12-plus minutes of man-advantages could end the Hershey Bears’ early-season slump.

The Bears had just about every chance to get the upper-hand early in their game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night, but not even what was essentially a six-minute power play did the trick.

Although Hershey forced a tie in the third period, the Penguins showed how to capitalize on a game-changing opportunity.

Dominik Simon cleaned up a deflection on a power play during the final period to put the Penguins ahead in a night where their penalty kill and goaltender Tristan Jarry played lights-out. The result was a tight 3-2 victory and an early advantage in the Penguins’ intrastate rivalry with Hershey, which came in front of 4,575 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

It was the first game of the Atlantic Division rivals’ 12-game season series, which Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took, 8-4, last season.

Simon gave the Penguins (5-2) the deciding edge during a power play midway through the third. Christian Thomas passed to Kevin Czuczman, whose shot was blocked at the net but bounced to Simon in front of an empty left side of the goal.

Jean-Sebastien Dea and Teddy Blueger also scored for the Penguins, who led 2-0 in the second period but had to hold on late. Jarry turned away 30 shots, including a few tough saves during crunch time as the Bears (1-5-0-1) parked the puck deep and emptied their net.

But Hershey — which entered the night with an Eastern Conference-worst 2.00 goals per game — fell short, even though it had three consecutive power plays early in what was an 0-for-7 night for the unit. The Penguins were whistled for three minors in the opening frame — the second coming only four seconds after the first expired, and the third only two seconds after they killed the latter.

The Penguins easily kept the game scoreless despite the setback. Afterward, they didn’t even have to wait for their first power play to begin before taking the lead.

When Jarry skated off the ice on a delayed penalty, the Penguins made quick use of their extra attacker. Chris Summers flipped a pass over to Jean-Sebastien Dea, and the fourth-year pro skated unimpeded through the left faceoff circle before scoring past a bit of traffic at the net.

After the break, Tom Sestito was a split-second shy of converting a cross in front of the goal on a breakaway. His effort still put another Penguins goal in motion.

As Hershey tried to get out of its zone, Blueger rushed to the blue line to keep the puck onside. He kept skating through the middle and put away a shot at the net for a 2-0 lead.

The period continued to tilt the Penguins’ way, as they quickly went on a power play afterward. But, Hershey’s Jeremy Langlois corralled a loose puck and scored shorthanded with one defender back. Riley Barber knotted the game in the third period, making for a tight finish that Simon eventually decided.

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